JAG CENTRAL

From the NY Times, a follow up on yesterday's dead-body photo scandal entitled Army Inquiry Finds No Evidence G.I.'s Gave War Photos to Web:

An Army inquiry has found no evidence to prove that American military personnel sent graphic photographs of Iraqi war dead to an Internet site in exchange for online pornography, Army officials said Wednesday.

Col. Joseph Curtin, an Army spokesman, said investigators from the Army's Criminal Investigation Command could continue their inquiry if more evidence came to light, like the identities of any American service personnel who actually provided the photographs.

Notice that the Army isn't saying it didn't happen; rather, that there is no evidence to pin on any particular soldier or unit. Apparently, many groups are dismayed by this conclusion:

An official of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the organization that wrote Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld demanding an inquiry into the matter, expressed frustration that the military had concluded that no felony occurred.

"I think the military's conclusion is premature and it unfortunately will send the message that they are not taking this case seriously," said Ibrahim Hooper, the council's spokesman.

From the Washington Post, this snippet about an abuse trial in Fort Bliss ("An Army interrogator was sentenced to five months in prison Wednesday for assaulting a detainee in Afghanistan who later died. Army Sgt. Joshua R. Claus was the sixth soldier to be convicted of or plead guilty to abusing detainees after the deaths of two prisoners at the Bagram airfield detention center. In all, 14 were charged. Claus pleaded guilty to charges of maltreatment and assault involving a detainee known as Dilawar, and to forcing another inmate to kiss his and another soldier's boots. His sentence included a bad-conduct discharge from the military. Dilawar died at the detention center in 2002. No one has been charged in his death."), and Army Investigating Web Postings of Grisly War Photos.

NOTE: I will be on a field training exercise this weekend, so no postings until Sunday night.

Categories: Afghanistan, Detainee+Abuse, Newspapers

From the NY Times, Private Gets 3 Years For Iraq Prison Abuse:

Pfc. Lynndie R. England, a 22-year-old clerk in the Army who was photographed with naked Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for her role in the scandal.

After the sentence was announced, Private England hung her head and cried briefly before hugging her mother, one of the few signs of emotion she showed in the six-day trial.

She had been found guilty on Monday of one count of conspiracy to maltreat prisoners, four counts of maltreatment and one count of committing an indecent act.

She made no comment on Tuesday as she was led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and leg shackles.

Earlier in the day, though, she took the stand and apologized for abusing the prisoners, saying her conduct was influenced by Specialist Charles A. Graner Jr., her boyfriend at the time.

She said she was "embarrassed" when photographs showing her posing next to naked detainees became public in 2004.

"I was used by Private Graner," she said. "I didn't realize it at the time."

The article also covers the various arguments the trial and defense counsel made at closing:

Prosecutors told jurors to discount Private England's post-conviction apology. Captain Graveline read names of Iraqi prisoners forced into sexually humiliating poses in the pictures with Private England.

"The accused stands up and says, 'I apologize for the photographs,' " he said. "O.K., but what about the abuse?"

Defense lawyers also sought to show that Abu Ghraib was a chaotic, unpleasant place that was frequently under attack. Due to personnel shortages, support soldiers like Private England were sometimes called on to assist prison guards, they said.

In other news, Army Investigates Photos of Iraqi War Dead on Web ("The Army has opened an investigation into whether American troops have sent gruesome photographs of Iraqi war dead to an Internet site where the soldiers were given free access to online pornography, Army officials said Tuesday. Some photographs on the Internet site show people in American military uniforms standing around what appear to be dead bodies. Other photos include graphic images of severed body parts and what appear to be internal organs spilling from bodies onto the ground."), and Officer Criticizes Detainee Abuse Inquiry:

An Army captain who reported new allegations of detainee abuse in Iraq said Tuesday that Army investigators seemed more concerned about tracking down young soldiers who reported misconduct than in following up the accusations and investigating whether higher-ranking officers knew of the abuses.

The officer, Capt. Ian Fishback, said investigators from the Criminal Investigation Command and the 18th Airborne Corps inspector general had pressed him to divulge the names of two sergeants from his former battalion who also gave accounts of abuse, which were made public in a report last Friday by the group Human Rights Watch.

Captain Fishback, speaking publicly on the matter for first time, said the investigators who have questioned him in the past 10 days seemed to be less interested in individuals he identified in his chain of command who allegedly committed the abuses.

"I'm convinced this is going in a direction that's not consistent with why we came forward," Captain Fishback said in a telephone interview from Fort Bragg, N.C., where he is going through Army Special Forces training. "We came forward because of the larger issue that prisoner abuse is systemic in the Army. I'm concerned this will take a new twist, and they'll try to scapegoat some of the younger soldiers. This is a leadership problem."

From the Washington Post, Reservist Sentenced to Three Years for Abu Ghraib Abuse.

From USA Today, England Gets 3 Years For Her Role in Scandal, and Captain Says Concerns About Prisoner Abuse Weren't Priority.

Categories: Lynddie+England, Abu+Ghraib, Iraq, Detainee+Abuse, Newspapers

Army PFC Lynddie England, Convicted of Abuse at Abu Ghraib (AP)

From the AP (via Washington Post), this breaking update on testimony during the sentencing phase of Army PFC Lynddie England, the most notorious of the Abu Ghraib prison abusers. A whole slew of defense witnesses are testifying that the abuse was everybody's fault but hers:

Stjepan Mestrovic, a sociology professor at Texas A&M University, said officers in charge failed to control the guards, creating stressful conditions that disoriented England and led her to take part in mistreatment of detainees.

"She was caught up in this chaotic situation like everyone else," said Mestrovic, who also testified that officers at Abu Ghraib "knew or should have known what was going on."

That testimony was later supported by Pvt. Charles Graner, the reputed abuse ringleader now serving a 10-year sentence, who said he once severely beat a detainee while military intelligence personnel watched.
....
Also Tuesday, a New York psychologist said England came from an emotionally abusive family, was prone to depression and that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder even before deploying to Iraq.

Xavier Amador said England also had a deviant sexual relationship with Graner that affected her ability to know her actions were wrong.

"It changes your view of what's OK and what's not OK," he said. "You don't recognize indecent acts as readily as you would have."

ANALYSIS: Sentencing can be unpredictable with military panels. They don't always have the "hang 'em high" attitude that Hollywood would have you believe. If the defense is successful in making the panel believe these "experts", England may see only a year of prison time. The government needs to remind the panel that she took an oath and that she is responsible for her own actions, no matter what was going on around her. That may be an awfully tough sell to a panel considering England is only an E-3, and a rather dull one at that.

Categories: Lynddie+England, Abu+Ghraib